HTC Touch2 Smartphone Review

Editor's Score
Features:	Performance:
Value:
The Verdict: If you’re looking for a device that stands somewhere between a business phone and an entertainment device, the Touch2 is a good choice.

Having used the original HTC Touch for a few months, I can say that the Touch2 is a huge improvement over the original. It comes with the newly released Windows Mobile 6.5 O/S and HTC’s TouchFlo interface. From a design point of view, the device comes out triumphant over its predecessor. The phone is a lot sleeker to look at and the additional back, home and start buttons are a welcome addition. It’s quite compact as well and will easily slip into your pocket. On your first power up, you are greeted with a mini tutorial on how to use the phone’s on-screen keyboard and functions effectively. If you’ve been using Windows mobile, you’ll have become accustomed to using the stylus for practically everything. Thankfully, the Touch2 is more finger friendly and in the three weeks I used this phone, I barely felt the need to pull out the stylus from its socket. Keep in mind that it’s still a resistive touch screen though, so the touch experience is far from perfect. The HTC Touch2 comes loaded with features. Here’s a list of some of them: * 2.8″ 65K-color QVGA display * Windows Mobile 6.5 Professional OS with TouchFLO * Qualcomm MSM7225 528MHz CPU and 256MB RAM * 3G with HSDPA 7.2Mbps * Wi-Fi connectivity * Built-in GPS receiver with A-GPS support * Stereo FM radio with RDS * 3 MP fixed focus camera * microSD card slot * Touch-sensitive zoom bar * Standard miniUSB port and Bluetooth v2.0 with A2DP * Standard 3.5mm audio jack * Great audio quality * MS Office Mobile document editor * Opera 9.5 web browser * YouTube client, Facebook integration * Excellent video playback performance As a basic phone, the device is not without flaws. Scrolling through a contact list on a resistive screen is a pain. You’re a lot better off not bothering to check the contact list. Simply dial out the letters of the contact you’re looking for and it will pull up the contact for you. Sending text messages is relatively painless thanks to a well-defined keyboard. On the bright side, the phone does boast pretty decent battery life thanks to a 1000 mAh lithium ion battery. During our testing, a single charge lasted about two days with limited 3G and wireless usage. The Touch2 works wonderfully as your Smartphone but has an odd spot or two. While it does have an improved email offering, it falls short in comparison to some of the newer handsets. For example, HTML-coded emails are displayed as text, and not how they should be which is disappointing. Also managing a large amount of emails such as deleting spam could be more intuitive.

As an entertainment device, the phone is a little more impressive. Audio quality on the Touch2 is quite good for a phone. The 3MP camera is a welcome addition to the phone but lacks zoom or a flash. It’s great for your basic photo shots though. The device has 512MB internal storage which can be upgraded using a MicroSD card. The Opera web browser also makes a welcome appearance and you have a special YouTube channel to watch all your favouite videos without having to access the browser.However, watching YouTube or browsing the web will simply leave you craving for a bigger screen. While browsing, the Touch2’s 2.8inch screen and QVGA resolution will keep you constantly zooming in and out of your websites. Overall, the HTC Touch2 is a decent phone that’s held back by the limitations of its Windows mobile operating system and a resistive touch screen. If you’re looking for a device that stands somewhere between a business phone and an entertainment device, the Touch2 is a good choice.